Technika a trh

08-11_Wikov_c_koleje_CZ_loko_cz.qxd

6.9.2023

12:39

Page 9

rail transport

will be projects where it is necessary to

assess the division on an ad-hoc basis.

Investments

As both companies succeed in meeting

their sales targets for rolling stock gearboxes, space and funding for new investments are also being created. In Mosbach, Germany, we are currently

launching an internal project to further

streamline production and assembly,

where, on the one hand, individual technologies are gradually being relocated to

ensure a smooth flow through the entire

production process and, on the other,

new supporting technologies are being

purchased. Wikov instead invested in machinery for large-scale production. We

can mention the two Starrag Heckert

HEC800 X5 five-axis machining centres

with automatic stacker or the Liebherr

LC380 DC gear hobbing machine, e.g. for

pinion production.

Use of an innovative non-contact sealing made with additive technology

New products

But more importantly, the development of

new products and the use of new materials or artificial intelligence is going well.

At last year's Innotrans, Gmeinder Getriebe launched a range of new gearboxes

for the so-called yellow fleet, i.e. special

vehicles, railway cranes, track inspection

vehicles, tampers, track construction and

rehabilitation machines and maintenance

vehicles. Let's start with the GGT 224S

range of gearboxes with gear shifting for

cranes and multi-purpose vehicles. It is

a two-speed spur gearbox with two different gear ratios optimised, moreover, for

cold environments (-40 °C). The gearbox

or the entire drive can be tested in these

cold conditions at Wikov MGI. The gearbox is equipped with a disengaging mechanism for three positions: driving mode,

working mode and towing position. The

disconnecting mechanism is mechanical

with a sliding sleeve. This type of gearbox

is not driven by an electric traction motor,

as is common on most rolling stock, but

by one or two hydrostatic motors on one

or both sides of the gearbox.

Another type is GGT 263S/630 gearboxes for maintenance vehicles. It is also a

two-speed spur gearbox, but with a fixed

ratio. The gearbox housing is made of

aluminium alloy, which reduces its overall weight. The gearbox is optimised for

very low operating speeds at full load

(<1 km/h). This requires a specially designed gearbox that ensures sufficient oil

supply to the bearings and gears under all

load conditions, even when driving on

steep gradients. The solution does not require the use of an oil pump.

continued

Cross section of a gearbox for Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1